Requirements for undertaking the actual trip are;

1. A passport, sorry your green barcode i.d. book just will not do. Allow a minimum of 16 weeks when applying for your passport. I remember applying for mine in 2005, it took only 4 weeks, but, I shall say no more…
2. We were lucky in 2007 when two students from Polokwane were allowed to obtain visas to Japan with the use of temporary passports, but that took a bit of doing. So if you serious about going to Japan get your permanent passport it would save you lots of time, money and…
3. Department of home affairs in your area is where you want to be going to when applying for a passport. If you applying on behalf of a student or students make sure they are present, if you could pass the buck on to the parent you would save yourself much running around.
4. I don’t remember what the fees are when applying for a passport; can be around R 220 by now.
5. You can only apply for your visa once you have your passport and air ticket.
6. As far as I know there are two Japanese embassy offices in S.A (I speak under correction) one and only office in Cape Town is on the Foreshore, Telkom building on the 21st floor. The other office is in Pretoria…
7. In 2009 the cost for my visa was R 225. To make life easier when applying for your visa you must apply for your official letter of invitation via your branch chief. The branch chief will submit names to Japan where our organization will apply for and send you a letter of invitation to the event held in Japan at that particular time. The cost for this letter has been 50 dollars for a while now, but it is something you must get and believe me it will make your life easier getting to the tournament held in Japan. Also make sure you have some money in your bank account, the Japanese embassy might ask you to provide them with a bank statement. This to make sure you can look after and provide for yourself financially when on the other side.
8. So, you have your passport, ticket and visa, what next… Ah time to buy the currency you will need when aboard. I prefer to have a few dollars in my pocket, especially when in transit, the dollar is pretty much accepted everywhere. The currency needed in Japan is called the yen.
9. Not all foreign exchange agencies stock the yen; you might have to apply for yen a maximum of two weeks in advance. There’s a pretty good chance you can buy yen on the airport in Jo’burg, but that’s your last stop before departure if you coming from a different province, up to you if you going to take the risk.
10. Depending on how much yen is needed and how big your group is, I honestly don’t buy that much yen at all anyway. You will definitely need yen when arriving at your destination in Japan as you would need to purchase a ticket for the bus or train to get to your hotel from the airport.
11. These days I simply march off to the nearest city bank atm on the airport in Japan and draw yen using my debit card. Yes you read it, not my credit card, I don’t have one, I use my debit card. You can draw whatever your maximum is at home, it’s as easy as pie.
12. I must however warn that your atm card pin number must not be longer than four digits. Don’t know why, but my bank told me a 5 digit pin code will not work over there.
13. Whatever you do, don’t make the mistake of thinking you can exchange your South African rand for yen whilst in Japan. They sadly do not recognize or accept our currency.